


Painting through the Haze

by VividWinchester



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Artist Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Blimon, Blind Character, College AU, Connor comes up somewhere, How Do I Tag, I'm new, Josh just wants everyone to be happy, M/M, My friends are demons, North likes to party, Protective Markus (Detroit: Become Human), simon is blind, this gets dark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-06-11 01:29:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15304425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VividWinchester/pseuds/VividWinchester
Summary: Markus goes to a party he doesn't want to and meets a certain blond in the weirdest way possible. Even though Simon's blind he can still see that Markus is a good guy and things escalate from there.





	1. At the Party

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The we'd die for simon group chat](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=The+we%27d+die+for+simon+group+chat).



Markus wasn’t really a party goer. He’d rather spend more time in his dorm studying or painting, anything to keep his mind busy. However, his rather wild friend- North, was very demanding that he at least went to one party before the semester was over. He reluctantly agreed as she dragged him off in the night. Even before he stepped on the sidewalk of the building, you could hear the music blasting from the door of the car.

“Are you sure this is the right place? It seems more like a rave than just a party” Markus said as he looked to North, who rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

“Come on buzzkill, it’s a party, it’s supposed to be loud” She said as she walked over, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him up the stairs and through the door.

The music was loud, too loud, and it felt like the music was shaking his insides with the beat. It didn’t seem to bother North though, who immediately vanished into the crowd as soon as the chance was given. There were at least a hundred college kids there, mostly girls, getting drunk and yapping about the drama they had in their friend group. Though he’d rather leave, Markus pushed through the crowd to the drinks and grabbed the cliché red solo cup and got himself whatever they were serving to hopefully soothe his nerves. He lingered near the small table because there was enough space to breathe. He sighed and looked at the time, it was only 10. _Damn._ He thought it’d be time to leave already because he was done with his whole party experience. If he got caught by his dad at this out-of-hand party he’d expect not to see the sun for at least 3 weeks. Whatever was in his drink seemed to help though, a slight buzz however was enough to tell him not to grab another cup.

The lights were colored, red and blue mixing together to make a beautiful purple, _a nice touch_ , he thought. He was only in the main room, but the party extended throughout the house. North was no where to be seen, just his luck. He took this time to look around, a house plant was next to him and the room was neatly decorated, well, was neatly decorated. He had been leaning on the wall for while as he drank whatever was left in his drink and pushed himself off. Being his was pretty thin, it was easy to slip through the people dancing, nudging against some people who didn’t even seem to notice. He walked into another room and scanned the around. _Just more people drinking_ , He said in his head as he noticed it was mainly girls in a room with two poles. Before he could step back and away from the scene, a hand latched onto his arm and dragged him into the crowd.

“What are you doing?” He said as he tried prying his arm away from the unknown girl, who didn’t even care to listen to him as her friends grabbed his other arm and backed him against the pole. _Fuck this night couldn’t get any worse._ Markus looked around, for anything that could help and noticed a blond guy, around his age being tied to the pole next to him. He squirmed and looked around frantically, as if he didn’t know what was going on.

“Please stop” The blond almost pleaded as random women reached under his shirt. The same started happening to Markus and he swore if he wasn’t tied up he would’ve been miles away by now. Whoever this guy was, it seemed to be his first party and Markus could obviously tell it wasn’t going to be his best experience. That’s when, North, who has the best timing ever, saw what was going on and sped walk to Markus.

“What the hell have you gotten yourself into?” She whispered in almost a hissy tone.

“I honestly have no idea, can you get me untied?” Markus asked, looking at the golden haired college boy and furrowed his eyebrows.

“Alright, I’ll get you and Rapunzel out of this mess. All right girls! Enough’s enough!” She called out to the crowd, who sighed and groaned before dissipating. Markus was untied by his super hero friend before he went to save this unknown victim. As he reached out to untie him, he thrashed around.

“Stop! Don’t touch me or I’ll scream” He said.

“Hey, it’s okay, I’m just untying you” Markus reassured, and it seemed to work as the other stopped moving as much while he freed him.

“Thank you, I’m Simon by the way” He said as he turned to face where ever the voice came from.

“My name’s Markus, nice to meet you” He said, going to give him a handshake as he noticed that Simon didn’t even seem to know that his hand was out.

“Oh, um, can you please guide me to the exit, I have a friend waiting for me outside and I, I can’t see” He admitted, giving a shy smile.

“Oh, don’t worry, I was on my way out too” He replied kindly as he took Simon’s hand and led him outside, warning him about the steps as a breeze swept by.

“Thank you, my friend should be here to get me soon, I was dragged here” He said with a small chuckle.

“Me too, I’m not used to this whole, drink until I die thing” He said as they both giggled.

Just as he said that, a tall and slim figure jogged over, his hair was short, and he wore a t shirt with a baggy jacket over, “Simon, you okay?” He asked as he looked to him.

“Yeah Josh, perfectly fine, thanks to Markus here” He said as he gestured to him.

“Thanks for watching out for my friend, he can’t really see things coming” He teased, receiving a nudge from Simon and a repressed laugh from Markus.

They walked and talked for a bit before they made it to Josh’s car, where they swapped numbers and stood for a bit.

“How about we go for coffee or something on Sunday?” He asked Simon out of the blue, the question made the blond noticeably blush as he scrambled his words.

“I’d like that, thanks” He said with a bright smile before getting into the car, and with Josh rolling out the window, gave Markus a goodbye wave as they drove off.

Markus’ smile seemed to stay though as North caught up and poked at him about this new guy. _Maybe this night wasn’t as bad as it seemed._


	2. To the Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markus gets the gang together for a mini movie night after he and Simon go to the park!

 

 **Hey. What time do you want to go for coffee?** Simon’s phone buzzed. He quickly turned it on and found his messages, with the help of the line reader his phone had. The robotic voice read out the text, Simon tapped on the screen and swiped over the keys. He hit send after pressing the buttons he wanted.

 **11 sounds nice, see you then.** He didn’t get a response after that, so he assumed Markus was busy or something. Pulling himself out of bed, he grabbed his walking cane and stood. The cane snapped open as he got dressed out of his pjs and walked out of his room. He shared his dorm with Josh, which is how they first met. He liked Josh, he was nice, helped him out a lot and was a good voice of reason. He got over to the rundown couch they had and sighed. Even though he couldn’t tell if the couch looks old, he could tell by running his fingers along the fabric. That’s when he heard a door opening. It was probably Josh waking up, the footsteps were light and familiar, so it must’ve been him.

“Morning” Simon greeted, scooting over to one side of the couch in case Josh wanted to join him.

“Good morning, want some coffee?” Josh asked kindly, looking over to Simon.

“I’m meeting up with Markus for coffee later, but thank you” He responded, a soft smile rested on his face.

“Alright, are you two a thing?” He asked out of the blue, walking over and sitting next to him.

“What, Markus and I? No. He just saved me from a mob of horny women” Simon said with a red tint to his face, “He is nice though”

“Hmph, you guys would be cute together” He said, and Simon could almost see the smile on his face as he chuckled at the thought. _Yeah, maybe we would be cute together_ , he thought to himself.

He had set an alarm earlier for when he should start walking to the on-campus coffee shop, which wasn’t too far but you never know. Him and Josh talked for a bit as Josh played some YouTube videos which Simon listened to. They were mostly vines, that made them both cackle on the sofa. Simon crossed his legs before his alarm went off. The time seemed to fly by as he and Josh watched vine compilations.  
“I’ll probably be back in maybe an hour, see ya Josh” He said as he picked up his cane and got up.

“Okay, have fun with your boyfriend” He teased as Simon rolled his eyes before leaving the dorm. He wore several layers, a collared shirt, then a sweater and a jacket over that. He didn’t want to over dress or anything, but he didn’t want to seem like he didn’t care. It wasn’t a date, so he could dress casually, _or was it a date._ Simon couldn’t tell at this point as he made his way carefully to the coffee shop, standing outside and waiting for Markus.

“Hey Simon” The kind voice greeted him as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Hi Markus, should we go in?” He asked, a smile had already creeped onto his face as Markus led him inside and to a table. Markus was kind enough to get them both coffee and pay for it, which Simon insisted that he paid him back. They chatted, talked about each other’s lives and interests. It really seemed like a date, but Simon kept telling himself that Markus would only want to be friends, and besides, who would want to put up with him?

After that, they walked around the park that was a block away. The grass was green, and a breeze shook the emerald colored leaves. Simon could hear Markus take a deep breath in, along with other people around them talking.

“The flowers are very pretty around this time of year” Markus commented as they strolled on the pavement path.

“Yeah, it would be nice if I could actually see them” Simon laughed, and Markus followed too, having to cover his mouth before he broke out in a giggling fit. They were pretty close, for people who just two nights ago. Markus seemed to be careful with him, making sure that he didn’t run into anything or trip on air. Maybe it was just coincidence, but every time Markus was near, Simon couldn’t help feeling the blush rise on his cheeks.

 

The next week went by quickly, and Markus stuck around, visiting Simon at his dorm a few times while Simon helps him with his classes. North came around one time and met Josh, and even though they were different, they got along just fine.

They shared music together, Markus would describe whatever he had painted, and they’d just hang out. They were really becoming good friends, the four of them. On Friday night they ended up going out to eat together at some restaurant a few blocks away. Markus always liked the walk around the city, describing the neon signs and whatever color the lights luminated the town with to Simon, who just nodded along so he didn’t interrupt Markus’ thought. North and Josh just followed behind as they joked about the blossoming friendship as they listened into their conversations.

They ate dinner slowly as all four of them shared their problems and complained about their classes. By the end they all felt better because they basically just vented out their worries. Simon stuck close to Markus, for some reason he couldn’t figure out why. Markus noticed it when Simon was inches away while they were walking back.  
Josh and North couldn’t help but comment about this on their way back to Josh and Simon’s dorm. When they got there, Josh went over to a little bookshelf and pulled out a movie, looking back at the group. The movie was The Beauty and The Beast, but it was the live action version. Everyone just nodded, even Simon when Markus told him what movie it was. They all crammed together on the worn-down couch after Josh had been so kind enough to supply popcorn and a variety of sodas.

Somewhere in the middle of the movie, Simon started to drift off. He could feel himself fall into the couch and his eyelids close. He felt relaxed, and happy, something that was kind of rare to him.  He didn’t mind that he’d miss the rest of the movie, he was content with the fact that he was safe and with his friends.

Josh was the first to notice, smiling as he nudged North, who returned with a soft chuckle. “Looks like he got bored of the movie” She commented. Markus looked over to see Simon leaning back into the couch, the rise and fall of his chest being his only movements.

They left him alone, watching the end of the movie before carefully getting off the couch. Markus smile a tiny bit, “I should probably get home, it’s pretty late” He said as he said goodbye to the two. Before he left, he looked back at Simon one last time as he headed out the door and back to his dorm.


	3. In his Eyes

Around 8 years ago.

Highschool crushes usually led nowhere, but it was his first. His first risky, driven by teenage anticipation. Simon was only fifteen, a sophomore when he met him. He kept it to himself for the most part but shyly admitted to it when he was confronted by his friends.

His big brother, Daniel, had warned him about guys. Even though he never experienced it himself, Daniel could guess what the wrong type of guy would do to his little brother. Simon didn’t care about what Daniel warned him about, to him, this was a real thing. Tonight, his crush had invited him over for a small party. Simon had excitedly gotten dressed and was about to rush out the door when his brother stopped him.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Daniel asked with his arms crossed, standing behind him.

Simon turned around and gave a nervous chuckle, “Out?” He said.

“You’re going to have to give me more information than that”

“I’m going to a party down the street?” Sure, Daniel made him give the address and what time he would pick him up, but it was better than lying to his brother.

“Have fun” Daniel said as Simon walked out the door after grabbing his jacket off the coat rack. He strolled down the sidewalk for around 10 minutes before he got there, knocking on the door. One of his many friends opened the door and let him in. Everyone he knew was nice, and the people there were no exception. They treated Simon kindly, even when some people wouldn’t. It was a regular party, except there wasn’t that many people, just guys. He looked around before getting himself a drink. Even though Daniel would probably skin him because he was drinking, it wasn’t like he was going to get blackout drunk.

Eyes seemed to linger on him, as if they were watching him. Simon just brushed it off and sipped at his drink as his listened to the music. He had a sort of off feeling when the looks didn't cease. Maybe he had something on his face? Or maybe something on his shirt? He couldn't figure it out, but the inkling wouldn't fade away, and it made his stomach turn slightly

It was around 9:30 when Simon wanted to climb upstairs to see if he could just lounge around until his brother came to pick him up at 12. He grabbed his last drink before walking up the steps. The floor was carpeted as he looked around, just a big table and a couch before it led to several rooms. There were some people there too but not as many as downstairs. He could feel the small buzz in the back of his head telling him to stop drinking but he ignored it. For some strange reason, his puppy love came walking up to him with a jug of bleach in his hands.

“Why are you holding bleach?” He asked him, a slight concern washing over his features.

“Fucking fag” He cursed, the word burning deep into Simon’s heart and utterly crushing it.

“What? What are you-“ He was cut off by the hands seizing and lifting him up. Ignoring his pleas to be put down, they slammed him down onto the table and held him in place. That’s when he put the jug down. There, the guy who he trusted and kinda fell in love with, was grabbing a pipette and making his friends hold him down.

“Hold his eyes open” He commanded. Simon was terrified by those words as his goons did as his said. Simon could feel the tears streaming down his face as he tried to escape whatever horror was planned for him.

All he saw was a pipette above his eye and a very pale-yellow liquid dropping into his right eye. Screams escaped his mouth even before the pain pierced through his head. They did the same with his other eye before leaving him to spaz out on the table. His eyes burned, and tears blinded him. His vision was fuzzy, the pain was beyond unbearable as he fell off the table and landing with a thud. All while he was forced to listen to his former friends laugh at his agony. A hand pulled back his head by his hair, making him wince at the pain as tears flooded his eyes. The group of boys took turns with beating him. Simon tried to cover his face with his shaking hands.

At some point, maybe ten minutes in, he just dropped to the floor and passed out. Possibly from the pain, or possibly from the fact that the goons were kicking him in the stomach as he held his eyes.

Daniel got the car keys and sighed, checking his phone to see if his little brother had texted him up yet. It was 11:54 and he was usually greeted by a text from Simon that says to pick him up whenever he went somewhere late. He trusted his brother enough to not worry though as he grabbed his coat and walked outside, the air cool on his face. He got into his car and begun the 6-minute drive. As he saw the house in view, there was a figure just laying on the sidewalk. As he pulled up, he saw blond hair and Simon’s jacket.

“Simon!” He quickly said as he ran and nearly slid to his side. His brother was barely conscious, a quiet groan coming from him. Daniel checked over him, seeing small bruises form all over Simon’s body but it wasn’t until Simon opened his eyes the slightest bit that he realized how bad his brother was. His eyes were red and his irises appeared severely damaged.

“Simon, hey” He said quietly, his breathe visible in the night’s cold temperature, “I need you to stay with me” His eyebrows furrowed, concern building in his expression as he held his brother closer to his body.  
“Daniel?” Came out in a small mutter. Simon’s nose had dried blood clotting at his nostrils and his lip was busted. 

“Yeah, it’s Daniel, you have to stay awake, okay?” He said, holding his hand for reassurance. At this point, Daniel was on the verge of tears, emotions surging through him as he saw him little brother suffer.

“My eyes, Daniel, I can’t” Simon trailed off, his head rolling to one side. Daniel shook him a little, “Simon?” He called out quietly, but no answer. He picked his little brother up and ran to his car, setting him in the back and covering him up with his coat.

Next thing Simon knew he was back to present day, sat up in his bed. He touched under his eyes and sighed. Just a good way to wake up, in the middle of the night and in a cold sweat.


	4. Throughout the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just another day in the life of Markus.

Markus got ready for class, completing his morning routine in record time. Grabbing his small backpack, he walked out of his room and sighed. He was in a dorm by himself, which was good, but sometimes too quiet. He ate just a bowl of leftovers as he rushed out. He enjoyed walking around campus, watching the wind shake the leaves and the squirrels scurry around. His bag was small but it weighed heavy with his books and things.

He nearly bumped into another person as he walked into his first class. He quickly apologized as he was met with warm brown eyes. The guy who he had almost crashed into had darker brown hair as some hung loosely in front of his face.

Markus watched as the other just nodded and found his way to his seat. _First time seeing him_ , he thought before going to his own seat and taking out what he needed from the bag.

That class went by pretty fast, Professor Anderson was hungover and just let the class watch a movie. He took a stroll around the campus. He wondered what Simon was doing, but he could guess he was in class or maybe doing the same as him. He had the mild urge to text him as he looked down at his phone, his thumb running over the contact name as he swiped down to North to text her.

**Are you out of class yet?** He clicked ‘send’ and waited for a reply.

**Class? Oh sHIT!** The response popped up quickly. It made Markus chuckle a bit before he looked up to see where he was walking, stopping to stand under the shade of a tree.

**I guess not.** He texted, **I have 1 class after this then I’m going home to start a project.** He added in a second text.

**Alright Michael Angelo, have fun**. North took a picture of her messy room. Markus smiled at his friend’s cluttered desk before turning his phone off and continuing his walk. He wandered for around 7 more minutes before heading to his next class.

For some reason, his mind seemed to drift off from the lecture as he doodled a little in his notebook. Nothing special but it kept him occupied. He didn’t even know what he was drawing himself, he only knew that he was drawing it.

Professor Kamski was lecturing about human anatomy when that wasn’t even the subject he was supposed to be teaching. Mostly everyone had headphones in except one female student with short hair. She was busy jotting down whatever she needed to, looking up at the Professor every now and then. Markus didn’t mind her too much as he returned to his little doodling. After another 45 minutes of just talking about the human body, Kamski let the class go early.

Markus found his way to his dorm and set down his stuff, grabbing a glass of water before going to his desk and beginning his work that he needed for class. He was pretty quick when it came to work, making sure that everything was done before it needed to be done. When he was completely finished, he walked over to the kitchen and grabbed some ramen noodles, heating them up and eating them on the couch while he ate them. He took a small break as he watched TV.

An hour of eating and distraction passed, and now Markus was cleaning up. It was about 6pm when he started painting his new project. It was a mixture of intense blues and harsh whites and gray. He was halfway done with it when he was happy with his progress. He left it to dry and sat on the couch. He scrolled through his phone messages and checked his email like the boring person he was.

There was nothing really interesting, just another quiet night in his dorm. It was clean and lit by a warm colored lamp in the corner. Markus liked it, it gave off a homey vibe and didn’t seem that empty.

A thud against the door stopped his thoughts. Raising an eyebrow, he approached the door and looked through the peek hole.

It was Simon, clearly disheveled and unkempt. He was leaning on the wall next to the door. Markus unlocked the door and opened it.

“Simon?” He furrowed at his eyebrows, “It’s pretty late, are you alright?”

He looked over, his irises glazed over but the blue gleaming.

“No” He said in almost a whimper, feeling the border on the door and stumbling into Markus.

“Let’s sit you down” Markus said, holding his hand and leading him to his couch. They both sat down as Simon looked at him, eyes drooping and red. The neck of his shirt was crooked, and it was kind of obvious he had been drinking.

“No one wants me” He said with a crack in his voice, and eyes watering. Markus felt a crack in his heart appear as he saw his friend before he pulled him into a hug.

“I-I’m blind, and I suck” He continued, his speech slurred and muffled against Markus’ shirt. Markus sighed, his arms retreating from the hug a moment later.

Simon stayed near him, sliding down to lay by his legs. Markus spoke up, “Simon, don’t say that” He said in a calm tone, “Just because you’re blind, that won’t stop anyone from loving you”

It didn’t seem to stop the blond’s crying, “I’ll just die alone” He whimpered, “Who would want a fucking broken toy” He hissed at himself. The curse surprised Markus, being that he had never heard Simon curse. Markus just put his hand on Simon’s shoulder and brought him closer.

“Hey, don’t say that” He said, “I’m here for you, and you aren’t broken Simon” He waited for a response or contradiction.

“He doesn’t even like me, and I-“ He held himself back before covering his eyes, “Oh god, I’m a mess” He sobbed into his palms

Markus didn’t want to push, so he just brought Simon closer and sat him up. “Hey, stop that, I’ll get some water for you, and you can stay here as long as you want” He said as he made Simon look at him.

It seemed to help, Simon slowly lowered his hands and nodded, tears soaking his cheeks and the whites of his eyes were now a red tint. Markus smiled a tad bit as he got a glass of water and a blanket for him. Once he walked back, Simon seemed to flinch at his footsteps as he sat next to him.

“Here” He said, handing the glass to Simon as the shaking blond took a sip. Markus covered his lap with the blanket. Tears were still dripping off Simon’s cheek when he faced at Markus.

“I’m so sorry” He said suddenly, “I don’t deserve this” He mumbled. “I just get so” He trailed off before drops of water splashed on his clothes. Simon put the glass on the floor before clinging onto Markus.

“I just like this guy and I’m scared” His words came out of the blue. ‘I’m scared he’ll leave me, I’m scared he’ll lie to me” He almost didn’t make it to the end of the sentence.

Markus just held him tight, “I’m here for you” He said, trying to reassure his friend that he was alright, and that he was safe. Simon pressed his face against his shoulder and stayed quiet after that. Markus assumed he had stopped crying after a bit as he sighed, turning on the T.V. just to help distract the two.

 

Markus talked with his drunken friend until he had fallen asleep. Markus looked at his watch, 1am. He felt bad he had to slip out from under the sleeping blond. He stood up and carefully picked him up, blanket and all. He knocked over the glass that was sitting on the floor.

“Shit” He muttered, his feet getting wet from the water that had splashed on the ground.  He slipped on his flip flops while holding Simon bridal style and did his best to open the door, “This’ll be more complicated than I thought” He muttered to himself. Simon groaned before his eyelids blinked open.

“Sorry Simon” He whispered. He didn’t want to admit to the blush that crept up onto his ears could be because of Simon leaning in onto his chest. Simon muttered something before he nuzzled in further into Markus’ shirt. He felt his cheeks grow hot as he walked outside with the blond.

“I like you Markus” He blurted out, his arms wrapping around him. Markus looked at Simon, red in the face.

“Simon? What are you-“ He was cut off by Simon pulling him in with his arms into a small pec on the lips. Unfortunately, Simon missed and kissed his nose.

Markus smiled a bit, “Simon, I” He was at a loss for words and had stopped in his tracks. His mouth was agape as he looked at Simon. The blue eyes were staring at him, worried had filled the blond’s face as Markus closed his mouth. He set Simon on his feet, yet still let Simon lean on him.

That’s when Markus leaned in and introduced his lips with Simon’s. The kiss was short lived but by the end of the small exchange both of them were flushed red.  
“I’m sorry” Markus apologized quickly.

“Shut up” Simon leaned on him, “Don’t apologize for anything” He slurred before Markus lifted him up bridal style once more.

“I’ll just get you back to your dorm” He muttered as he kept walking, looking around. Luckily, no one was normally out this late but Markus couldn’t take that chance.


	5. An update

Wow, it's been a long time since ive been on ao3. I'm almost 100% sure i wont be updating this fic anymore, but I want to keep writing and to start others. I thank the people who've read this, and I hope you keep checking in every now and then to see if i write some more. For now, you can follow me on instagram @vividwinchester for art and everything dbh!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work on ao3, and I hope it's a good start! I'd like to thank my friends for helping me out a lot, love you guys!


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